WEST BEND - Demand is expected to be high for commercial snow removal this winter, as area services spent the bulk of Wednesday digging into the second major snowfall in three days.

And in this state, private snow-removal services are about as recession-proof as it gets. Businesses may cut costs, but an unsalted and unplowed driveway or parking lot simply is not an option.

"I had a couple people last year who said 'why did you plow twice? Couldn't you just do it once?'" said Anna Lutz, who runs JL Seasonal Services in Germantown with her husband, Jim. "So there will be occasional issues with that. But most people are just happy to have their paths cleared."

Last season's record-setting snowfall - more than 105 inches fell in West Bend alone - led to a huge uptick in business for private contractors who are responsible for clearing business lots, private roadways and residential driveways. But it also created lots of headaches for businesses like JL, which has been around for several decades, who can't always handle the often relentless requests for service.

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